Melih Oztalay

Melih Oztalay is a seasoned digital marketing expert and the CEO of SmartFinds Marketing, a 37-year-old agency driving measurable growth through AI, SEO, and automation. With nearly four decades of experience, Melih created the 4-A’s marketing framework—Awareness, Attraction, Acquisition, and Advocacy—to help businesses build scalable, strategic systems that align marketing with performance-based business goals. His thought leadership has been featured in Search Engine Journal, Practical E-Commerce, and Crain’s Detroit. Melih specializes in shortening sales cycles and improving ROI through data-driven marketing ecosystems. With over 22,000 LinkedIn connections and a passion for clarity in digital strategy, he continues to educate and empower business leaders worldwide.

Are your marketing activities producing ROI—or just keeping you busy?

When Melih Oztalay started SmartFinds Marketing 37 years ago, digital marketing looked completely different. But one thing hasn’t changed: the need for strategic clarity. In this powerful episode of Talking with the Experts, Melih reveals how his 4-A’s Framework—Awareness, Attraction, Acquisition, and Advocacy—revolutionizes business growth.

We open with the problem many businesses face: investing in marketing that doesn’t translate to revenue. Melih walks us through how to align marketing systems with real goals using AI-powered SEO, performance analytics, and automation. You’ll learn how to use intent-based content to attract leads, reduce friction in your buyer’s journey, and build long-term brand advocates.

Melih’s framework isn’t theoretical. It’s rooted in real-world success and tailored for founders, CMOs, and entrepreneurs ready to modernize.

If you’re tired of throwing money at campaigns with little return, this episode delivers a proven roadmap to improve ROI, reduce sales cycles, and increase customer engagement.

🌐 Learn more: www.smartfindsmarketing.com

🎯 THREE Key Takeaways

1. How to Implement the 4-A’s Framework to align marketing efforts with business goals.
2. Ways to Leverage AI, SEO, and GEO-targeting to increase visibility and conversions.
3. How to Shorten the Sales Cycle through automation and strategic content systems.

Introduction of Melih Oztalay and the 4 A’s framework

• Melih Oztalay, CEO of Smart Finds Marketing, was introduced as a guest on the podcast ‘Talking With The Experts’ hosted by Rose Davidson.
• Melih has nearly four decades of experience in digital marketing and is the creator of the 4 A’s marketing framework: Awareness, Attraction, Acquisition, and Advocacy.
• The framework helps businesses align their marketing strategies with performance-driven outcomes.
• Melih shared that the 4 A’s framework was formulated after the release of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm in 2013, which significantly changed SEO strategies.

Aligning digital strategy with business growth

• Melih discussed the importance of adapting to changes in the digital landscape to align marketing strategies with business growth.
• The discussion highlighted the evolution of the internet from a ‘Wild West’ experience to a business strategy tool, starting from Google going public in 2004.
• The introduction of the iPhone and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook in 2007 marked a significant change in the digital era.
• The financial crisis in the United States in 2009 and the rise of artificial intelligence in 2022 were also noted as impactful changes.
• Melih emphasized the need to be an early adopter of new tools and technologies to stay competitive and achieve business growth.

Utilizing AI-powered SEO and geo-targeting

• Melih explained how AI-powered SEO can improve lead quality, visibility, and campaign performance.
• AI tools like ChatGPT can enhance search capabilities, provide analysis, and assist with technical aspects of SEO.
• Geo-targeting, in the context of generative engine optimization, involves using SEO skills with artificial intelligence to generate necessary SEO elements within a website.
• This includes optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, keyword density, and schema code to better suit both Google and AI agents.

Structuring a scalable marketing ecosystem

• Melih suggested using AI tools to help develop a scalable marketing ecosystem.
• AI can assist in planning and strategizing marketing efforts, identifying client goals, and preparing marketing campaigns.
• AI agents can be used to automate mundane tasks, allowing more time to focus on critical business aspects like financials and goal setting.
• Melih emphasized the importance of setting realistic goals and using AI to assess the achievability of these goals.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

• Melih introduced the concept of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), which focuses on improving the effectiveness of existing website traffic rather than driving more traffic.
• CRO involves using AI, A/B testing, SEO, layout changes, and UX/UI modifications to increase website visitor conversions.
• Melih noted that a well-executed CRO program could potentially double or even triple lead conversion rates within four to five months.
• The process includes creating a journey funnel for each website visitor, using heat maps to understand visitor behavior, and making iterative changes based on analysis.

• Introducing the concept of the 4 A’s framework and its origin after the release of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm in 2013.
• Discussion on the importance of being an early adopter of new technologies and tools to stay competitive in business.
• Exploring the benefits of using AI-powered SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO) to improve lead quality, visibility, and campaign performance.
• Explaining how AI tools can be used to structure a scalable marketing ecosystem and set realistic goals.
• Discussing the concept of conversion rate optimization (CRO) and how it can significantly increase website visitor conversion rates using AI and various optimization techniques.

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